During the last ten years, MCC has been involved with various overseas projects which have included disabled people. With its emphasis on funding grassroots projects, MCC has contributed toward the development of the self-help movement of disabled people.

Most of the material for this section is from memos written by MCC country representatives and MCC area secretaries, as well as a file search at MCC's headquarters in Akron, Pa. Fourteen country representatives responded to our memo, only one of whom stated no involvement with disabled persons. Generally it can be observed that MCC is already more involved with disabled people than many other international development agencies. This section will survey MCC's involvement in a number of areas. It will not include efforts in the area of prevention of disabilities through vaccination programs and community-based health, but will look at the areas of employment, education, rehabilitation and material aid.

An important contributor to employment in all the regions is SELFHELP Crafts. Out of 80 suppliers, 12 are groups of disabled artisans. Seven percent of all crafts received come from these 12 groups. In total, approximately 1,155 disabled people are employed through SELFHELP Crafts.

A.Africa

In Africa, 10 countries have been or are now involved with disabled people. The highest areas of involvement are in education, medical rehabilitation and technical aids. Most support for education is through special schools or classes for disabled people such as the Broader Horizons School for mentally handicapped children in Sudan. MCC started this school in 1974 and is still marginally involved in it. MCC also is involved in an integrated school in Swaziland and has been providing teachers at St. Joseph's Mission in Swaziland, in which 10 percent of the high school students have a physical handicap.

In six countries MCC has been assisting with rehabilitation and technical aids, such as wheelchairs and crutches. Examples of this can be seen in the multi-drug program for leprosy in Ethiopia, the physiotherapist who was working in Zimbabwe in the early 1980s, and the two MCCers who have been working at the Mangu Leprosy Rehabilitation Centre in Nigeria since 1982.

In the area of employment, MCC purchases jewelry from two cooperatives of disabled persons in Kenya.

In the 1980s material aid has been sent to Sudan, where material was sent to refugees, many of whom had disabilities, and to Zimbabwe, where material was supplied to build a chicken co-op for the people at the National Rehabilitation Centre.

Finally, MCC has supported the disabled self-help movement by sponsoring the travel of a visually impaired person to the Founding World Congress of Disabled Peoples' International in Singapore in 1981, and by providing some funding in 1983 to the office of the National Council of Disabled Persons in Zimbabwe.

Overall in Africa, MCC has been involved primarily with persons with mobility impairments -- wheelchair and crutch users. Second, in five countries, has been involvement with multidisability endeavors. There have also been two projects relating to mentally handicapped persons, three relating to persons with visual impairments and one project with hearing impaired persons. As yet there has been no involvement with mentally ill persons in Africa.

B.Asia

In Asia MCC has been involved with nine countries in disability-related projects. The majority of these are in the area of medical rehabilitation and technical aids production. Examples are to be found in Indonesia, where an MCC physiotherapist worked in a leprosy hospital and in Vietnam, where MCC supports wheelchair workshops. A community development worker from Thailand spent several weeks advising the MCC team in Laos on its involvement with people with Hansen's disease (leprosy). Earlier two people from Mexico and Nicaragua were sponsored by MCC to learn how to make artificial limbs from a doctor working in a Thai refugee camp.

MCC has had involvements in employment ventures in seven Asian countries. For example, from 1983 to 1987 MCC provided blacksmith tools and sewing machines, enabling disabled people to run businesses in leprosy villages in Laos. MCC also provided gardening tools and helped start a fishing business there. In India SELFHELP Crafts has been buying cards from hearing impaired people.

Educationally MCC has been involved in India and Thailand. In India, one program is the sponsorship of blind and deaf students. In the area of self-help, MCC Thailand helped sponsor a participant to the World Congress of DPI in 1981. He returned to Thailand, inspired by disabled people from other parts of the world, to begin an organization of disabled people in his own country.

The majority of MCC's contacts in Asia have been with those who are mobility impaired; MCC works with them in seven countries. It has had several contacts with hearing impaired people and one involvement with mentally ill people in India as well as one project with mentally handicapped people.

C.Latin America and the Caribbean

In Latin America and the Caribbean, MCC has been involved with disabled people in 10 countries. Five of these have been in the area of medical rehabilitation and technical aids. For example, MCC Brazil has contributed to a physical therapy clinic for the past six years and disabled people in Cuba and Honduras have received wheelchairs and other mobility aids from MCC British Columbia and MCC Saskatchewan.

Support of self-help organizations of disabled people happened in four countries. In Jamaica, MCC supported the salary of a public awareness worker for the International Year of Disabled Persons (1981 to 1982), as well as sponsoring the participation of a disabled person to the DPI World Congress in 1981. MCC also provided on-site support for a DPI International Symposium on Development in 1984, as well as contributing towards the DPI North American Regional Training Seminary in 1987.

MCC has been involved in education for disabled people in three countries. Teachers have been supplied to Brazil for the teaching of deaf students and to Bolivia for the teaching of mentally handicapped people. MCC Jamaica has been involved with the Maranatha School for the Deaf since 1982 and has supplied some staff and helped refurbish the school.

MCC has been involved in employment in three countries. MCC Jamaica has aided deaf farmers in production and obtaining small loans as well as providing an MCCer to work with DEEDS Industries, a woodworking factory run by disabled persons.

In this region MCC work includes: four projects involving mobility impaired persons, three including people of various disabilities, two focusing on mentally handicapped people, several projects in two countries for hearing impaired persons, programs for mentally ill persons in two countries, one project for visually impaired persons and one for children with learning disabilities.

D.Middle East

In the Middle East MCC has involvements in two countries. MCC Egypt and Lebanon have been involved with educating mentally handicapped girls and MCC Jordan helped to start a center to teach life skills to mentally handicapped persons in the Husn Palestinian refugee camp.

E.Looking toward the future

On a more general front, MCC and MCC Canada have been supporting Disabled Peoples' International and international disability concerns since 1981. From 1981 to 1986, MCC provided an MCCer for the DPI Development Office in Winnipeg, Man. MCC Canada also made it possible for Henry Enns to take time to serve as chairperson and deputy chairperson for DPI from 1980 to the present. In addition, MCC established Disabled People's Concerns in 1986 to consult on MCC projects overseas.Looking at MCC work in broad terms it is apparent that most involvement comes in the area of rehabilitation and technical aids followed by education and employment. Mobility impaired persons have received the most attention, and those who are mentally ill or have learning disabilities have received the least. All regions appear to have a similar level of involvement, but it is clear that although such involvement is increasing it is still not a major program priority. Of the more than 50 countries with which MCC is involved, 26 contain projects involving disabled people and these are often small grants made on a short-term basis and do not appear to be a large portion of the annual budget or a priority for the MCC program in these countries.

As MCC looks to the future it is important to examine new ways of relating to disabled persons. The fact that disabled concerns are of low priority in the churches worldwide has significant impact on overseas work. It may be most helpful for MCC to work with organizations of disabled people directly and get their assistance in educating the churches. MCC has limited resources and therefore it is important to prioritize the areas in which work can be done. Since it is the self-help groups that often achieve the greatest results, it will be important to support these groups as they train their own people to help themselves. To this end it will be necessary to realize the importance of funding administrative costs that will allow local staff to be hired and projects to be managed internally.

There is an old saying that one must earn the right to care. The feedback received from disabled people seems to indicate that MCC is gaining that right. The challenge now is to continue in a direction that will increase this credibility. In order to do so MCC needs to continue to open its doors to the involvement of disabled people in all of its activities. This will include encouraging disabled people to serve in MCC and providing the necessary supports for them to fulfill the responsibilities. MCC has done a fairly good job in providing opportunities for mobility handicapped people, but there are few blind or deaf persons working within the organization. Would, for example, supports be made available for blind persons to function as country representative or overseas secretary?

To continue to build credibility, MCC should integrate disabled people into all its programs. This includes emergency relief, visitor exchange, refugee assistance, agriculture, health and education programs. MCC should also utilize its expertise to assist disabled people to develop their own projects in many of these areas.

There appears to be a gradually increasing potential for MCC to assist Mennonite and Brethren in Christ churches overseas in providing for disabled people in their congregations. Initially this has taken the form of education and understanding the needs of disabled people. It has then expanded to providing resources such as residential care for disabled children and vocational training programs. This could provide an expanded area of opportunity in the future.

MCC could also find exciting opportunities in the area of the development of appropriate technical aids like wheelchairs and artificial limbs. MCC has played an important role in developing appropriate technology in other areas and could utilize its expertise in this area for the benefit of disabled people.

One of the current priorities for MCC work is developing employment opportunities. Developing sewing cooperatives, secretarial training projects, wood working factories and farms run by disabled people would be innovative and creative responses to the need for employment opportunities for the disabled.

MCC has played an important role in developing centers for independent living in Canada. Based on grassroots self-help community integration approach, the centers provide the expertise and support for disabled persons to become integrated into society. Disabled people in developing countries have identified this as a unique and appropriate model to be developed in their countries with some modification. This could also be an appropriate model for Mennonite people overseas to provide for disabled people in their midst. It is a concept worthy of promotion by MCC in its overseas programming.

Disabled people are wanting equal opportunity to participate in society today whether that be in the form of integrated education, regular employment or appropriate technology. MCC is on its way to providing the assistance that will make some of these dreams a reality. To be helpful without dominating and to be empowering instead of overpowering, dialogue among equals is necessary. To continue its positive influence MCC must make such dialogue with disabled persons a priority in the coming years.